Sustainable development, widely acknowledged as an aim by the international community, entails a balanced approach across its economic, social, and environmental dimensions. International trade, as a means to achieve this aim, plays a pivotal role in the economic dimension and requires balancing with social and environmental dimensions. This research focuses on the legal mechanisms within international trade law that interact with or address sustainable development. For the purposes of this chapter, international trade law encompasses both global (WTO law) and regional (e.g. EU external trade law) levels, including the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) and Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Chapters in New Generation Free Trade Agreements (NGFTAs). International trade law, situated within the economic dimension of sustainable development, has evolved in two directions: reactively considering sustainable development concerns, namely environmental and social (labour) concerns, as exceptions to trade liberalisation rules and proactively contributing to sustainable development by regulating trade to benefit these concerns. This chapter employs legal methodology to scrutinise and establish connections between these mechanisms while assessing their adequacy in meeting the aim of sustainable development. On the reactive front, the adequacy of Article XX of GATT 1994 in meeting the aim of sustainable development is found to be partial, particularly due to its limited reflection of social (labour) and environmental considerations, warranting amendment. Conversely, on the proactive front, both at the WTO and EU levels, efforts have been made to create appropriate legal mechanisms. Among these, TSD Chapters emerge as a promising model for regulating trade to address social (labour) and environmental concerns.